Got a complaint - read first!

[WinnieinWA]

This article is excellent with very good advice. How many times have new posters been burned when they come on CC and say how awful the food is, how bad their service was, etc. without any specifics, who they talked to on the ship to try to address their issues, and what was the response/result.

 

The best advice I've been given in the past is to be:

 

CLEAR

 

CONCISE

 

COMPLETE

 

Oh, and non-confrontational.

 

The problem is that a LOT of the complainer-whiners are also one post wonders so you know they sure don't read any stickies.:(

[houch]

That should be mandatory reading for all CC members.

 

Mike:)

 

I agree!

[California Native]

Larsen...

Fabulous article! 2 thumbs up to you for posting this!

it should be a sticky on all boards!

I pretty much agree with Pam and Toto..so I won't take the time to reiterate it.

[davidnsteph]

For all of you who have had problems, anticipate ever having problems or just like to complain a lot I suggest you take a look at this article. Great advice from an expert. His advice not only is prudent when writing a cruise line but would go a long way to get you the anticipated sympathy when you post here on CC.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32867445/ns/travel-cruising/

 

Thank you for posting this. Very practical and useful.:)

 

DavidnSteph

[cacy6893076]

This article is excellent with very good advice. How many times have new posters been burned when they come on CC and say how awful the food is, how bad their service was, etc. without any specifics, who they talked to on the ship to try to address their issues, and what was the response/result.

 

The best advice I've been given in the past is to be:

 

CLEAR

 

CONCISE

 

COMPLETE

 

Oh, and non-confrontational.

 

If i might add, stay away from the "laundry list".......... pick your battles....don't include the fettucine alfredo in the same paragraph with the air conditioning issue.

[janina]

Great article, and hopefully more people will read it and learn.:confused: Thanks for sharing!

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

If i might add, stay away from the "laundry list".......... pick your battles....don't include the fettucine alfredo in the same paragraph with the air conditioning issue.

 

But wouldn't the air conditioning make the fettucine alfredo cold?:)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Excellent advice to anyone wanting to send a complaint letter to any company. As Pam says, be clear, concise and complete. Use a spell and grammar checker, and then have someone with a good sense of English check over your letter.

 

I would also suggest using a very brief topic sentence (ok, I have a 7th grader) as your first sentence so that the customer services rep doesn't have to search through a long explanation to find out why you're writing in the first place. For example:

 

I was fortunate to be on the (date) sailing on the (ship), but had some issues that need to be addressed that kept my cruise from being perfect.

 

Make sure you break up your letter into several paragraphs, but try to keep it to one-and-a half pages or less, to keep it readable. As suggested above, don't include any little complaint. Many of those probably could have been taken care of on board anyway. And listing several complaints would probably make the rep think you're a chronic complainer anyway.